Morning journal and courier., 1887-11-29
FERRKTs FOE NEW ZEALAND.
a Farmers Elaborate Preparation fOl
Making War on the n Rabbits.

Making WAR on the Rabbits.
| From the Pail Mall Gazettel
Mr.. Cross, the well known naturalist of
Liverpool, who is up in London looking af-
ter the gorilla that he has just sold to the
"Zoo," paid call to Northumberland street
| the other day to report on the animal king
dom of which he is undisputed lord.
f'The last new thing" said Mr.. Gross, ''is
the sailing of the ferrets; one hundred and
twenty Of them have just gone of, and with
them seven hundred and fifty pigeons, ten
sacks of biscuits and three hundred and sew
enty-fve tins of Nestles milk-I bought the
milk for them myself"
"But what are the pigeons for?'
THAT will explain to you. The ferrets
are for the rabbits and the pigeons are for
the ferrets. They will eat up the seven hun
dred and fifty pigeons on their voyage to
New Zealand. They will also consume the
biscuits and the milk. Then I have sent
sacks upon sacks of hay to make bedding for
the ferrets, and plenty of Indian corn to
feed up the pigeons. 1t was quite a sight
four big carts and two whole railway trucks
were taken up with this consignment. Two
men accompanied the ferrets, and very hard
work they have looking after both them and
the pigeons. But then, as told them, the
further they got from England the fewer
pigeons there will be-"
'fAnd what are the ferrets sailing fora"
"They are a consignment to a large wool
you know, has now broken out very bad
there. The Australians I see are going to
have rabbit-pest conference, but this New
Zealand wool merchant thought he had bet
/ ter send to Mr.. Gross, and Mr.. Cross is going
/ to send hin one hundred and twenty ferrets.
They won't make much Roadway, you say,
against the rabbits. But then they breed so
fast, and if none of them are lost on the
voyage, in a few months time my client
ought to have six or seven hundred of them
at least. Don't spare the expense he said
to me. The rabbits are eating up all the
pasture on which the sheep ought to be feed
ing, and unless ne can get them under he
will be ruined man. By the next mail I
am going to send the same customer a con-
Segment of stoats and weazels They are
wonderfully tough customers, are stoats;
they will bleed the rabbits to death in no
time.
Cautiously enough" added Mr. Cross, sat
the very same time that I received these or
ders for means of destroying the rabbits in
New Zealand l received also large order for
rabbits, and am now hard at work getting
together two thousand of them as quickly as
I can. They going to British Columbia,
where they have not got any rabbits. I am
sending two thousand of then-ffteen hun
dred dees and five hundred bucks This is a
pretty large business also. They will want a
hundred sacks of oats at least for the voyage,
besides plenty of hay, straw and sawdust.
ffNow how much should you think" asked
Mr.. Cross, ST am paying for these rabbits?"
Our reporter hazarded a guess, but it was be-
low the mark.
Give shillings pair" said Mr. Cross, ''is
what have to pay. I am buying them from
large landlord not far from Liverpool, who
has raised the price owing to the large num-
Der of men he finds it necessary to employ
in order to catch them. It will take sixty
men, he says, to catch these two thousand
rabbits for me in time for the next MALL